A Quiet Night In
by Bluehairedgal
Summary: Dawn and Andrew have a quiet night in front of the tv...


Title: A Quiet Night In br  
  
Author: Bluehairedgalbr  
  
Rating: PG-13br  
  
Summary: Dawn and Andrew have a quiet night in front of the TV...br  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, unfortunately :(br  
  
Feedback: Yes please!!br  
  
Author's note: This takes place in season five of Angel, before The Girl In Question. Please feel free to put this story on whatever fanfiction site you like :)br  
  
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Dawn snuggled down under the immense heap of blankets and prepared for a night in front of the TV. Buffy had rented out "Beaches" for her. She said it was the best film the store had that wasn't in Italian, but Dawn was pretty sure that Buffy had just grabbed the first thing she'd seen in a hurry not to be late for her date with the Immortal. That's all she seemed to do lately – go out with ihim/i. But Dawn supposed that the novelty of not having the weight of the world on her shoulders alone would wear off in time. Meanwhile, Buffy was making the most of her practically burden-free existence. And besides, Dawn was old enough to look after herself. She icould/i have gone out dancing, but she wasn't in the mood...plus it wasn't much fun when she barely knew enough Italian to ask for a drink.brbr  
  
She pressed play and started on the gigantic bag of popcorn which Buffy had bought her to compensate for the lack of company. She'd never seen this film before but she'd heard that it wasn't the most uplifting choice, so she had a box of Kleenex ready. Dawn was startled when there was an urgent sounding knock at the door. She paused the DVD and sat still for a moment. Buffy had told her not to open the door to anyone, because "There's still danger out there", but Dawn thought this was pretty stupid, because if it was any danger worth worrying about, it would easily kick down that flimsy apartment door. But Dawn's fears were put to rest when she heard a voice on the other side of the door. brbr  
  
"Buffy? Dawn? Is anyone there? It's me, Andrew. I kinda got kicked out of my apartment and I was hoping I could stay with you guys for a little while.....I don't have anywhere else to go." Dawn jumped up immediately, and opened the door, forgetting that she was only wearing her flimsy nightdress and untied dressing gown.brbr  
  
Andrew looked really happy to see her. "Oh, Dawn! Thank goodness you're here! I thought I might have to stay here all night, a-and your big scary neighbour guy was giving me funny looks, I think maybe he's a demon." He took a moment to gather himself after this dramatic statement and then really looked at her for the first time. When he noticed what she was wearing, he blushed slightly and quickly brought his eyes to her face again. She raised her eyebrows slightly at him but didn't close her dressing gown.brbr  
  
"But I-I didn't meant to interrupt anything i-if you're, um, busy or anything. I mean, I can come back, um, later, if you like." Andrew suggested uncertainly and started to turn away, but Dawn stopped him. "Of course you can stay here, Andrew, and besides, you just said you had nowhere else to go." Andrew sounded relieved. "That's so great, I promise I won't stay for long. I just have to sort out a few, um, issues with my landlady before the Watcher's Council can help find me a new place. I'm sure she'll calm down in a couple of days..." Dawn raised her eyebrows again. "What did you do to her?" Andrew started to reply, but Dawn interrupted. "Wait, you can tell me all that later, come on, I'll help you bring your stuff inside." She reached for the large bag at Andrew's feet and dragged it in. Andrew carried some bulging paper bags.brbr  
  
"Geez, Andrew, what have you got in this thing? Oh my god, you killed the landlady and put the body in here, didn't you?" Dawn exclaimed. "Um, no, of course not", Andrew half smiled. "I just grabbed a few, um, iessential/i chronicles on my way out". Dawn had managed to lift the bag onto the couch she had been sitting on a moment before and she picked out a huge, thick hardback volume. Andrew tried to explain himself, "Oh, I couldn't survive without the Olfnore Segrenet, it has everything you'd need to know about vemspor demons...." Dawn pulled out another vast volume and looked at him questioningly. "That one's also, um, vital." Dawn continued to rummage through the contents of the bag, extracting four other books. She looked at Andrew, "Couldn't you have gone back for this stuff later?" she asked. "I suppose...but I was kinda in a rush so I pretty much grabbed everything".brbr  
  
Dawn seemed to accept this excuse and took a moment to think about the situation. Then she took control, because it appeared like Andrew wasn't going to say anything else. "Okay, I'm gonna bring your stuff into my room and set up a bed for you on my couch. You can change your clothes if you like, the bathroom is just over there", Dawn pointed to a half open door. "But I didn't bring any clothes..." Andrew pouted. "You can bring the whole library but you forget the clothes - you've got some strange priorities, Andrew". He looked down, pretending to be ashamed, but she could tell that he found the situation amusing. "Fine then, I'll get you something from Buffy's room, the Immortal probably left some clothes there...although they might be a little bit big, the Immortal's a big man, or demon, or whatever he is." Dawn went into another room, not far off, and returned with a large grey t-shirt and black loose trousers. She handed them to Andrew. "That's all I could find of his, I suppose he doesn't need that many clothes when he's here..."brbr  
  
"Who's the Immortal?" Andrew asked innocently. "Oh, just Buffy's latest beau who she spends iall/i her time with. That's who she's out with now...they won't be back 'till late...they never are", Dawn sighed. "Oh, um, okay", Andrew didn't know what to do about the sadness that he heard in Dawn's voice as she said the last words, but he felt a need to comfort her. "You must get lonely if she's not around much.....What about the old gang - Willow and Xander, do you talk to them a lot?" Andrew made an attempt at conversation. "Not really," Dawn replied, "they're all caught up in their own new lives too, like Buffy". Andrew was worried, because his comments had seemed to make her more upset. "You can always talk to me..." Andrew offered cautiously. "Yeah, great", she answered, quite bitterly. Andrew was taken aback. He knew he wasn't the ibest/i company, but Dawn had always been reasonably nice to him, even back in his guestage days. brbr  
  
"Look, I'm sorry Andrew, but I usually try not to think about these things. It usually just makes me pity myself, and that's not gonna get me anywhere, right?" Dawn forced a smile. Andrew was still hurt, but he could understand where she was coming from. There were things he couldn't bear to think about too.brbr  
  
Suddenly Dawn changed the subject. "How about, you get changed and I'll make some coco and you can watch 'Beaches' with me. Have you seen it before?" she asked. "Who hasn't?" Andrew replied. "Well me for starters," Dawn said. "Just don't ruin the ending for me. I hate spoilers". When Andrew returned from the bathroom in the Immortal's clothes, the pair sat down on the couch, a reasonable distance away from each other. Dawn picked up a blanket and placed it over herself again, not thinking to offer one to Andrew. She pressed play and the film resumed.brbr  
  
They sat together silently for almost the whole duration, only interrupted every now and then by the crunch of one of them taking a handful of popcorn. When the film was almost over Dawn glanced at Andrew and noticed that he seemed to be crying. Before she could stop herself, she said "For Pete's sake, Andrew, it's not ithat/i sad!" Andrew turned away from her. Dawn immediately regretted what she had said. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he tried to hide the fact that he was crying. She didn't know why, but it made her sad to see him sad, even though it was only over a movie. She put her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her in surprise, forgetting to hide his tears. Neither of them were watching the screen as CiCi Bloom belted out the theme song over the credits, "That's the story of, that's the glory of love....."brbr  
  
Dawn remembered that she wasn't the only one who had been through a lot in the last few months, and she felt guilty. "I know that sometimes I can be mean to you, Andrew, but really...there aren't many people I like talking to...more than you" Dawn looked at him from behind a curtain of long hair. If Andrew had been surprised when she put her hand on his shoulder, he was twice that now. He didn't know what to say. "I mean," Dawn went on, "you listen to me, and you seem to care about what I'm saying. That's more than most people do around here," She sighed. Andrew didn't know what to say, but Dawn didn't seem to expect a reply. She stood up, took the DVD out and just as she was putting it back in the case, Andrew blurted out, "I-I like talking to you too." He knew that it wasn't exactly the best thing to say or way to say it, but he couldn't let the moment pass without letting her know. "Thank you." Dawn said quietly, and smiled at Andrew. He smiled awkwardly back.brbr  
  
Then the moment was gone. "Whoa, look at the time!" Dawn exclaimed, looking at her watch. "It's after two in the morning. We should probably go to sleep sometime soon." She didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea, so she made no movement towards the door of her bedroom, in fact, she settled down on the couch again. Andrew watched her expectantly. "Yeah...Buffy might be back soon, and I doubt she'll be ecstatic to see me again." "Nah," Dawn replied, "she's never home before five, at the earliest, and she probably wouldn't even notice you're here". Andrew frowned and silence covered them again. brbr  
  
Dawn didn't know how long they sat there for, but it must have been a while because suddenly she felt Andrew's head slump onto her shoulder. He had fallen asleep. She was surprised that her first reaction wasn't to push him away. She didn't move, and watched him intently. His usually styled hair was a mess and his mouth barely open, but she had to admit, he was quite adorable - not exactly dating material, but...huggable, yes, that was the right word. His face was so close to her's that she could just about feel his breath on her cheek.brbr  
  
Slowly he opened his eyes. It took him a moment to realise where he was, and after he had scanned the room, his eyes settled on Dawn's. He looked puzzled for a second and lifted his head slightly. Dawn smiled at him and he half smiled back. Their faces were still just centimetres apart, but neither wanted to be the first to separate them, in fact, Dawn realised that she wasn't disliking the closeness. Their eyes locked and, for once, Andrew didn't feel uncomfortable about it. Then Dawn moved closer and quite unexpectedly their lips met. brbr  
  
The kiss lasted a few seconds before Andrew pulled away. He looked worried. "W-what...why did...ohmygodBuffysgonnakilllme!" He whined. Dawn's emotions were mixed. She had liked kissing him, but it seemed like he didn't feel the same way. He stood up and started to pace up and down the small room. Dawn stood up too and grasped Andrew's shoulder - she found his pacing very unnerving. "God, Andrew! This is nothing to do with Buffy!" Dawn hadn't meant to, but she was almost shouting. Andrew looked kind of scared, so Dawn tried to calm down. brbr  
  
"If you like me, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks, even Buffy...but...I mean, if you don't, then just forget about it....she won't find out". Dawn sighed. Andrew was surprised that Dawn would even think that he didn't like her, and told her so. "I'm sorry that I reacted like that....i-it's just..." He struggled to find the right words, "It was nice and everything but...I wasn't expecting it is all. I do like you, but I didn't think you...I mean..." Andrew sighed, this was difficult. "I like you, but I don't think we should, um, do that...i-it's too complicated." Andrew hoped she would accept this explanation, because he wasn't sure he could back it up. He didn't want to sound clichéd but he just wasn't ready for this at the moment. brbr  
  
"I understand, Andrew." Dawn replied. "I guess I didn't think it through either. I was lonely and you're so...." A lot of adjectives went through Dawn's head – thoughtful, cute, attractive...But none of them would really support her argument, so she took another route. "I really like you, Andrew, but if we're gonna be together, I want it to be for the right reasons." "Exactly!" Andrew was amazed that they were both thinking the same thing. "So we're good then?" Dawn enquired. "Better than good." He smiled. They gathered the blankets up from the couch and his hand brushed her's, and in that second, their sensible resolutions were forgotten. They were in each other's arms sharing their second kiss a lot more eagerly than the first. The blankets dropped to the ground and they didn't hear the footsteps in the hallway approaching the appartment. brbr  
  
centerThe End (or maybe not..)/centerbrbrbr  
  
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A.N: Thanks to everyone who gave me reviews!! I'd like to do another chapter...I just need some inspiration :D 


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